Carton insert



M. c. BAUMANN 2,947,460

CARTON INSERT Filed Jan. 22. 1959 Aug. 2, 1960 lyre-Iron.-

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United States Patent ()fiice Patented Aug. 2, 1960 CARTON INSERT Marie C. Baumann, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Pet Milk Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 788,311

Claims. (Cl. 229-14) This invention relates to boxes, cartons and similar receptacles in which smaller individual boxes or articles or packages are packed, and in particular, this invention relates to a lightweight insert which is positioned above each of said individual packages within the outer carton.

At present, packages which are sold individually at the retail level are placed in a relatively large carton by the manufacturer or processor and then shipped to the retailer. For example, about twenty-four boxes of milk powder are packed in a regular slotted carton approximately 21 /2" long, 11" wide and 8%" deep in two rows of twelve boves each. To load such a carton, the bottom flaps are adhesively secured to each other, and the individual boxes of dried milk are inserted. Finally, the cover flaps are closed and sealed in some suitable fashion, such as by glue or sealing tape. This filled carton or package is shipped to retail outlets such as supermarkets or the like wherein it and many similar cartons are opened quickly with a knife, which is usually held horizontally and inserted along the upper corner of the carton.

The person who opens these cartons purposely penetrates the outer carton with the knife but sometimes accidentally cuts the individual boxes therein. This either penetrates the inside boxes thereby allowing air to get into the boxes, or at least tears the cellophane or other wrapping material which might be on the boxes so that they are no longer acceptable for retail sale. Such damaged merchandise is usually returned with resulting loss to either the initial manufacturer or the retailer or both.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a package which can be opened by retailers or the like in the same manner as before, but which reduces or eliminates the possibility of damaging the upper portions of the individual boxes therein. Another object is to provide a carton insert which is cheap to make, light in weight, and which has portions thereof positioned above each and every individual box within the carton. Another object is to provide a carton insert having cut'out portions therein which register with certain segments in an adjacent insert within the blank from which a plurality of carton inserts are cut.

This invention is embodied in a carton insert having alternate segments each of which extends more than half the width/of the carton. The invention also resides in a package comprising an outer carton with a plurality of individual boxes therein positioned in two separate rows, and a carton insert positioned thereover having cut-out portions and alternating segments which extend more than half the width of the carton.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings,

which form part of this specification and wherein like numerals and symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the carton with the cover flaps open showing twenty-four individual boxes therein,

Fig. 2 is a similar enlarged view showing the carton insert embodying the present invention positioned thereover, the boxes being shown in dotted lines,

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 after the cover flaps have been closed,

.Fig. 4 is a blank showing how several carton inserts may be formed without wasting any material,

Fig. 5 is a typical blank from which the carton itself may be folded, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the end portion of the carton insert showing the longitudinal corrugations.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a package having a carton 1 with a plurality of boxes 2 and an insert 3 therein. The carton 1 is a regular slotted carton formed from a suitably scored blank 4 having serially connected side and end walls 5 and 6. The end walls 6 are provided with bottom flaps 7 and cover flaps 8. The side walls 5 are provided with bottom flaps 9 and cover flaps 10 which can be folded inwardly into edgewise butting relation. The carton 1 is closed by applying sealing tape 11 along the longitudinal bottom and top slots between the flaps 8 and 10, or by any other suitable means. Cartons of this type are generally known in the trade as regular slotted cartons.

To assemble the carton 1 the bottom flaps 7 and 8 secured into assembled position, usually by an adhesive. The carton is then loaded with two rows of individual boxes 2, usually twenty-four in number although this number may vary considerably. The inner height of the carton 1 is about one-fourth of an inch greater than the height of the individual boxes 2 therein to provide a space 12 above said boxes 2 when the cover flaps 8 and 9 are closed and suitably sealed.

The space 12 accommodates the carton insert ,3 which is made from a light double wall sheet such as double fluted corrugated paperboard having two outer liners with a center liner and two corrugated members therebetween. The corrugations extend longitudinally as shown by the arrow to give greater strength to the carton insert 3. The insert 3 is slightly greater in height than the one-fourth inch high space 12 but can be compressed slightly when the cover flaps 8 and 10 are closed so that there is no movement of the individual boxes 2 within the carton 1.

The carton insert 3 is made from an irregularly shaped piece of material having substantially the same overall dimensions as the inner length and width of the carton 1. The carton insert has a central rib portion 13 with a plurality of oppositely extending segments 14 and 15 with cutouts 16 and 17 therebetween. The edges 18 and 19 of opposite segments 14 and 15 are aligned in conterminous relation. The cut-outs 16 and 17 terminate short of the longitudinal center 20 of the carton, so that each segment 14 and 15 has a portion 21 which extends beyond said longitudinal center 20 thereby forming a portion of the longitudinal rib 13 so that some portion of the carton insert 3 is positioned above a portion of each and every box 2 within the carton.

The cover flaps 8 and 10 are then folded downwardly ,947,460 a a, a o

into closed relation and a sealing strip 11 is applied over the longitudinal seam between the edgewise abutting outer side cover flaps 10. The carton is thus fully loaded and assembled and is ready to be shipped to a-supermarket or to the retailer who will open the carton and unpack the individual boxes 2.

To unpack the individual boxes 2, a knife is usually held horizontally and inserted along the upper margins of the side and end walls 5 and 6 just beneath the cover flaps 8 and 10 butabove the individual boxes 2. Unfor'tunately, when regular slotted cartons of conventional height with no carton insert 3 therein are used as in the past, it is difficult to accurately insert the knife between the cover flaps and the tops of the boxes with the result that one or more boxes may be damaged. To prevent this, the present invention increases the height of the side and end walls about one-fourth of an inch and provides a novel carton insert 3 so that any error in inserting the knife blade is less likely to result in damaged boxes since the tops 22 of the boxes 2 are positioned at least one-fourth of an inch below the level of the cover flaps 8 and 10 at the ends of the carton and possibly a greater distance in the central portion inwardly the inner edges of the end cover flaps 8.

it has been found in practice that the small one-fourth of an inch increase in the height of the carton 1 with the use of the carton insert 3 has materially reduced the amount of damaged goods and loss to whoever might have to bear such a loss. This reduction is attributed solely to the use of the carton insert 3 since it allows for a greater margin of error by the person who opens the carton. This person usually uses a sharp knife in a free hand manner or uses a special cutting tool which is slid along the upper corners of the carton. This tool has a horizontal blade mounted at a predetermined distance below the top horizontal part which slides on the top of the carton to be opened, and makes a straight cut below and parallel to the cover of the carton.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A relatively flat one-piece insert for a substantially rectangularly shaped carton having two rows of aligned boxes therein, one row being on either side of a longitudinal center line, said insert being formed from a portion of a substantially rectangular blank of corrugated paperboard material and having a longitudinal central rib adapted to be positioned directly above said longitudinal center line between said boxes so that a portion thereof is disposed directly above each and every box therein, said insert having alternately positioned oppositely extending spaced segments adapted to extend substantially to the side walls of said carton, said segments being approximately twice the width of said boxes in said carton, the transverse edges of said oppositely extending segments being in conterminous relation with each other thereby allowing similar inserts to be struck from a blank without there being any waste material.

2. A relatively flat insert for a substantially rectangular carton having at least two rows of aligned articles therein, one row being on either side of a longitudinal center line, said insert being struck from a substantially rectangular piece of corrugated paperboard material and having a central rib adapted to be positioned directly above said longitudinal center line between said articles so that a portion thereof is positioned directly above each and every article within said carton, the corrugations extending in a direction parallel to said central rib and said longitudinal center line, said insert having a plurality of segments extending in opposite directions from each side of said central rib, said segments on each side of said rib being evenly spaced from each other, there being cutout portions between each of said spaced segments on the same side of said longitudinal center line, the

respect to the segments on the other side, the transverse side edges of opposing segments being in conterminous relation with each other thereby allowing similar inserts to' be struck from the same large blank of rectangular material without any waste.

3. A relatively fiat one-piece insert for a substantially rectangular carton having at least two rows of aligned articles therein, one row being on either side of a longitudinal center line, said insert being struck from a substantially rectangular piece of corrugated paperboard material and having a central rib adapted to be positioned directly above said longitudinal center line between said articles so that a portion thereof is positioned directly above each and every article within said carton, said longitudinal rib extending substantially the entire distance between the end walls of said carton, the corrugations extending in a direction parallel to said central rib and said longitudinal center line, said insert having a plurality of segments extending in iposite directions from each side of said central rib substantially to the side wall of said carton, said segments on each side of said rib being evenly spaced from each other, there being cutout portions between each of said spaced segments on the same side of said longitudinal center line, said insert adapted to contact the walls of said carton only at spaced intervals,

the segments on one side of said rib being alternately I positioned with respect to the segments on the other side thereof, the transverse side edges of opposing segments being in conterminous relation with each other thereby allowing similar inserts to be struck from the same large blank of rectangular material without any waste.

4. A package adapted to be opened with a knife with less likelihood of damaging the individual boxes within the carton of said package, said package comprising acarton containing at least two rows of aligned box-like articles therein, said box-like articles each having vertical surfaces which contact the inner surface of the carton substantially over their entire area, said carton being approximately one-fourth inch taller in height than conventional cartons of the same type to provide a vertical space between the top of the box-like articles and the cover flaps of the carton, and a unitary lightweight insert positioned within said space and contacting the tops of said box-like articles and the inner faces of the cover flaps, said insert being slightly more than one-fourth of an inch in height and having only a portion thereof posi tioned directly above a portion of each and every one of said box-like articles in the carton to prevent vertical 5. A package adapted to be opened with a knife with' less likelihood of damaging the individual boxes within the carton of said package, said package comprising a regular slotted carton containing two rows of aligned boxes, said boxes each having a relatively fiat top and bottom and fiat vertical ends and sides which contact the inner surface of the sides and ends of said carton in flush relation substantially over their entire area, said carton being approximately one-fourth inch taller in height than conventional cartons of the same type to provide a space above the top of the boxes and below the cover flaps of the carton, and a unitary lightweight insert positioned within said space and contacting'the tops of said boxes and the inner faces of the cover flaps, said insert being made from corrugated paperboard material and having only a portion thereof positioned directly above a portion of each and every one of the boxes in the carton to prevent relative movement of the boxes, said insert being light in weight by reason of alternate cut-out portions in the opposite sides thereof positioned between oppositely extending alternate segments, said insert contacting the walls of said carton only at spaced intervals, the side edges of said segments extending in one direction being in centerminous relation with edges of the cut-out portions in the opposite side of the insert, the edges of said oppositely extending segments contacting the inner edges of the side walls and the end walls of said carton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 22, 1941 

